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Così fan tutte

Overview

Will the band play “The Wedding March” or the “Lonesome Woman Blues?” Two cocky young men test the fidelity of their fiancées, with unexpected results, in Mozart’s profoundly human comedy.

Synopsis

ACT I
Don Alfonso bets Ferrando and Guglielmo that he can get their fiancées to fall in love with others. The young men take him up on his wager, agreeing to do whatever he tells them. Don Alfonso enlists the help of Despina, who is just as worldly as he is. The men enter and tell their sweethearts they have joined the army and must leave. After a tearful farewell, in which everyone promises to be faithful, the men return, disguised as dashing “Albanians,” and proceed to court each other’s fiancée. The women at first reject them, prompting the men to fake their suicides. Despina, disguised as a doctor, cures them and the women begin to show some interest in their exotic admirers.

INTERMISSION

ACT II
Urged on by Despina, Fiordiligi and Dorabella decide that a little flirtation with the Albanians would be permissible. Guglielmo renews his seduction of Dorabella and eventually succeeds in getting her to proclaim her love for him. Ferrando redoubles his efforts with Fiordiligi and she, too, eventually succumbs to his charms. Don Alfonso arranges a double wedding, with Despina in disguise as the notary. Just after the women have signed the marriage contract, a military march is heard off-stage, representing the return of the army regiment. The Albanians flee, and soon return as Ferrando and Guglielmo. The men seem shocked when they discover that their fiancées were about to marry two others. Eventually they admit the deception they’ve played on Fiordiligi and Dorabella, as do their co-conspirators Despina and Don Alfonso. The young couples acknowledge that they have learned an important lesson in understanding and forgiveness.